Pool Play injured, done with racing

SARATOGA SPRINGS — Trainer Mark Casse took a hit before the Saratoga meeting even started when his Grade I winner Pool Play came up with an injury that will likely end his career. The 6-year-old runner, who was pointing for a start here in the Aug. 6 Whitney Handicap, exhibited filling in the upper part of his left tendon Tuesday morning and was found to have a tear in the ligament when veterinarians conducted an ultrasound Wednesday morning. He is definitely out for the remainder of the season.

Pool Play, who spent the majority of his career on synthetic and turf surfaces, raced 28 times with six victories and earnings of $909,556 for owner Bill Farish Jr. He took the June 6 Stephen Foster Handicap at Churchill Downs at odds of 36-1 in his first start on the dirt, and last worked five furlongs in 1:01.00 at Churchill on July 10 before shipping to Saratoga. He was scheduled to have his first breeze in preparation for the Whitney on Wednesday, the same day the injury was confirmed.

“Tuesday we were having our morning inspection as we always do, and (I noticed) some filling in the upper part of his tendon,” Casse said. “I wasn’t happy about it so I didn’t train him that day; we treated him, iced him, and walked him a bunch. It looked pretty good yesterday morning but I still wanted to go ahead and ultrasound it, and we found the tear. It wasn’t terrible, in fact, if you went and looked at him right now you probably wouldn’t even know that he had it, but we know him so well. He’s too good a horse to take a shot at hurting. I talked to Bill just decided to call it a year.”

The Canada-bred son of Silver Deputy will remain in Saratoga until plans for his future are finalized. While anticipating that the horse would not come back in 2012, Casse left the door open a very small crack.

“These kinds of injuries, we’ve seen horses come back from, but he has some value as a stallion and to bring him back next year at seven might be a challenge,” he said. “The injury itself I think he can come back from, that’s not the problem, but it’s age and value as a stallion that would keep us from doing that. I would think with him being a Grade I winner, he’d have some value in the overseas market.”